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Developments of Agriculture
From the First Agricultural Revolution to Today
Agricultural Revolutions
• First Agricultural Revolution – 10,000 year ago – The initial domestication of plants
and animals
• Second Agricultural Revolution – 250 years ago - Mechanization of agriculture with
improved practices of cultivation, harvesting, and storage of farm produce.
• Third Agricultural Revolution – In progress – Centered around development of
Genetically Modified Organisms
Second Agricultural Revolution
• Lasted from 1700s to early 1900s
• Coincided with the Industrial Revolution – New technologies developed
to improve crop yields – Produced surplus to feed
factory workers
• Supported by governments of Europe – Ex. Enclosure Act of Great
Britain
Developments of Second Agricultural Revolution
• New fertilizer and artificial feed
• Selective breeding of livestock
• Planting of crops in rows – Easier to manage
– Use of machines in planting
• Railroads decreased transportation time
Cyrus McCormick's Reaper
• Increased harvesting speed of wheat
– Required less people for harvest
• Led to urbanization and smaller family sizes
Third Agricultural Revolution
• Began in 1930s in United States
• Shift in roles of farmers
– Primary Sector – Cultivation and harvesting of produce
– Secondary Sector – Processing crops
– Tertiary Sector – Marketing and advertising products
Developments in Third Agricultural Revolution
• Increase Mechanization
– Increasingly replacing draft animals with machines
– Spread of Mechanization outside of United States after World War II
– Machines get larger, more powerful, and more efficient
Developments in Third Agricultural Revolution
• The Biotechnological Phase
– Inorganic fertilizers and manufactured products replace manure and humus to increase soil fertility
– Increasing use of herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides to increase yields
– Began in United States in 1950s, spread to Europe in 1960s, and then the rest of the world in 1970s to 2000s
Developments in Third Agricultural Revolution
• Agri-Business
– Development of business side of farming resulting in branding referred to as “value added”
– Increasing connectedness of farming and business
• Blending of rural and urban
The Green Revolution
• The diffusion of agricultural technologies and practices to less developed areas – Specifically Mexico and Asia
(India) – First practiced in 1940s in
Mexico by Rockefeller Foundation • Sent agricultural experts to
attempt to increase wheat yields
– Primarily associated with 1960s • Norman Borlaug received 1970
Nobel peace prize for helping reverse famine of India and Pakistan
Impacts of the Green Revolution
• Increased production
– Rice production of Asia increases 66% between 1965 and 1985
– India became self sufficient in some areas forwheat production
• Paid back debts and became exporter of surplus
• Led to increased gaps between MDCs and LDCs
– Areas that could not afford technology left behind
– Lost competitiveness
Current Agricultural Practices
• Genetically Modified Crops – Crops that carry new traits that have been inserted through advanced genetic engineering methods
• Organic Agriculture - Approach to farming and ranching that avoids the use of herbicides, pesticides, growth hormones, and other similar synthetic inputs
Restrictions on GMOs
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